Optoelectronic devices, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), have various applications in consumer electronics. High-brightness LEDs, for example, can be used as light sources in space-limited applications where thermal management is important. The LEDs are optimized for display backlighting and illumination in automotive and transport, consumer, and general applications. Typical end-products include mobile telephone displays, flashes for cameras, retail and window displays, emergency lighting and signs, household appliances, and automotive instrument panels and exterior lighting, such as brake lights and turn signals.
Some high brightness LED packages are ceramic-based or employ plastic leadless chip carriers (PLCCs). Silicon-based packages, however, can facilitate manufacturing of the packages by leveraging mature silicon processing techniques.
In one example, a LED chip is mounted within a recess of a silicon sub-mount. The recess serves as a reservoir that can be filled with a color-conversion material (e.g., phosphor silicone) to control the color of the light emitted from the package.
Some high-power LED white light applications, however, do not require a reservoir for a color-conversion material and, thus, can be mounted on a planar sub-mount. In a particular example, a package includes an optoelectronic device mounted on or integrated in the front-side of a planar semiconductor (e.g., silicon) structure having a thickness of about 200 μm or less. Packages with such thin sub-mounts can be advantageous for some applications, but typically require special handling during the manufacturing process to avoid their becoming damaged.